Thirteen years ago, former President George W. Bush signed the bill that authorized the museum, but as fate would have it, the museum opened this year – coincidentally Obama’s last year of his Presidency.

The 400,000 square-foot, $540 million museum is a sight to see.

“African American history is not somehow separate from our larger American story. It’s not the underside of the American story. It is central to the American story.” President Obama said at the grand opening ceremony. “A clear-eyed view of history can make us uncomfortable. It is precisely of that discomfort that we learn and grow and harness our collective power to make this nation more perfect. That’s the American story that this museum tells.”